Ingredients: - 4 cups white flour - 2 tsp. salt - 3 eggs, lightly beaten - ¼ – ½ cups water
What you need: - Clean flat surface (cutting board or a table you can work on) - Medium–large bowl for mixing - Knife, spatula or pizza cutter - Clothes drying rack, coat hangers or even fishing line - Pot for cooking - Colander - Rolling pin or substitute (a cylindrical water bottle works great — metal is better than plastic) Tip: If you fill the water bottle with water, it makes rolling the dough easier.
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How you do it: 1) Mix flour and salt in a bowl. 2) Beat eggs separately. 3) Use your hands to dig out a well in the flour/salt. It just needs to be big enough to pour the eggs and water in. 4) Pour eggs and ¼ cup of water into the well. 5) Gently start mixing eggs, water, flour and salt with your hands. 6) Once there is no powdered flour left in the bowl, move the mass to your flat work surface. Tip: If the mixture is too dry, add water a little bit at a time. 7) Knead the mixture for 10–15 minutes. (This is how Italians keep fit while eating all that pasta.) What you want is for it to not crumble, to be completely smooth and to have an elastic quality when stretched. 8) Separate the ball into four sections, setting three aside in a covered container while you work. This will keep them dry while they sit. Tip: If you separate the ball into more sections, the rolling process will be less physically demanding. 9) Lightly flour your work surface and your roller. 10) Roll your dough into a long oval shape until you achieve desired thinness. We recommend about 1 mm thick. Note: If properly made, fresh pasta is strong enough to withstand stretching, even when rolled extremely thin. 11) Cut dough into strips of desired width. Note: Fettuccine is typically only a few mm thick. Alternately, you can keep the rolled out sheets whole and use them as lasagna layers. 12) Hang strips from your rack such that they are not touching one another. 13) Repeat steps 9–12 for the remaining dough pieces. 14) Let pasta dry for 45–60 minutes. 15) Pasta is now ready to cook or can be kept refrigerated in a Tupperware for up to two weeks. 16) Cook fresh pasta just like you would dry pasta. 17) Cooking time will vary depending on thickness, but should be between 8–12 minutes. Tip: When in doubt, grab a noodle from the pot with a fork and taste it. When it’s the consistency you want to be eating, it’s ready.
Total prep time: 45 mins Total wait time: 45 mins Cook time: 10 mins
Fettuccine is typically eaten with a beef– or chicken–based sauce. In North America, fettuccine is most often served with an Alfredo sauce. We served ours with Trader Joe’s Tomato & Basil Marinara Sauce and shaved Asiago cheese.
Alfredo sauce can be made by melting ¼ cup of butter in a saucepan and adding 1 cup of heavy cream, 1 clove of crushed garlic, 1 ½ cups of grated Parmesan cheese and ¼ cup of fresh Italian parsley. Whisk thoroughly and serve.
